Obama authorises plans to double number of US troops in Iraq

1,500 further American soldiers will be deployed to train Iraqi troops to help
them fight Islamic State

President Barack Obama has authorised US generals to more than double America's troop deployment to Iraq in a significant escalation of the campaign against the Islamic State.

The Pentagon said Mr Obama had approved plans to send an additional 1,500 soldiers to Iraq on top of the 1,400 already deployed on a mission to train and support the country's military.

The plan would mean nearly 3,000 US troops stationed in Iraq three years after the last soldiers withdrew in December 2011, in what was supposed to be the end of the war that began in 2003.

Although none of the Americans are being deployed in a combat role, the the expanded troop deployment is likely to raise cries of "mission creep" from sceptics of Mr Obama'sstrategy for combating Isil.

The Pentagon said the US military would establish two bases outside of Baghdad and Erbil, the Kurdish capital, from which to support Iraqi and Kurdish fighters struggling against the jihadists.

The US will also set up training sites across the country to train nine Iraqi Army brigades and three brigades from the Peshmerga, the Kurdish fighting force.

"The commander-in-chief has authorised Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to deploy to Iraq up to 1,500 additional US personnel over the coming months, in a non-combat role, to expand our advise and assist mission and initiate a comprehensive training effort for Iraqi forces," said Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman.

Adm Kirby said the training plan would "enable Iraq to better defend its citizens, its borders, and its interests against the threat of Isil".

Accurate as of October 25 2014

The US escalation comes as Iraqi forces struggle to push back Isil fighters despite the support of American aircraft.

Over the last two days, US and coalition jets hit Isil bulldozers building barricades near Fallujah and also attacked targets near Ramadi and Haditha.

The White House says it has the legal authority to fight Isil under the terms of a Congressional vote, known as an authorisation for the use of military force (AUMF), passed shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks more than a decade ago.

Mr Obama said this week he would ask Congress to pass a new AUMF, specifically tailored to the fight against Isil.

Members of Congress from both parties may try to use the new AUMF as a vehicle for limiting the number of US troops that can be deployed and the scope of their mission.

The White House plans to ask Congress for more than $5 billion for the campaign against Isil, including a $1.6 billion "Iraq Train and Equip" fund.

The deployment was announced on the tenth anniversary of the Second Battle of Fallujah, where dozens of US troops were killed in house-to-house fighting in 2004.

Fallujah fell to advancing jihadist forces early this year and today is under control of the Islamic State.